Montana Online Gambling: The Facts
- Legal Montana online gambling options: Sports
- Legal gambling age: 18
- Who regulates Montana online gambling? The Montana State Lottery
- Legal mobile gambling? Yes
- Do I need to be physically located in Montana to gamble online? Yes
- Do I need to be a resident of Montana to gamble online? No
- Sports avalable to bet on: NBA, MLB, NHL and more.
- What can't I bet on? Online casino or poker games.
A Brief History of Montana Online Gambling
The history of Montana online gambling begins with the state of New Jersey and the Supreme Court. The New Jersey legislature wanted to implement online gambling in their state, but professional leagues and the NCAA blocked them. These organizations cited the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act as the reason why legal sports betting should be illegal in the United States.
Four states in America were allowed to offer sports betting because they were grandfathered into the bill. One of these states was Nevada, which offered sports betting in Las Vegas for years before PASPA was passed in 1992.
The state of New Jersey fought PASPA, and it ended up going to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court took the case and ruled in favor of NJ in 2018. The court ruled that PASPA was unconstitutional in a 6-3 decision which opened the door for states to legalize online gambling.
Montana was reasonably quick to legalize online sports betting once the Supreme Court overturned PASPA. MT has a unique online betting format which is different than many other legal states in America.
The Montana sports betting bill was approved by Governor Steve Bullock in 2019. The bill signed into law was HB 725, and it gave complete control of online sports betting to the state lottery.
Sports Betting Goes Live
In March of 2020, sports betting went live at 100 retail locations. Casinos, restaurants, bars, service stops, golf courses, American Legions, etc., can all offer sports betting kiosks. There are no retail sportsbooks in the state.
The Sports Bet Montana also went live simultaneously with the sports betting kiosks. Intralot operates it, and it’s the only legal gambling option for online sports betting in the state. Sports Bet MT must be played inside the state, but the book can be viewed anywhere with internet service. The maximum online bet is $1,000.
Montana Online Gambling: The Current Law
- Online sports betting is legal in Montana.
- People in the state can make bets through Sports Bet Montana.
- Sports Bet Montana is the only sportsbook in the state.
- Sports betting is run through the Montana State Lottery.
- There are retail betting kiosks all over the state, but there are no retail sportsbooks.
- The maximum bet on a kiosk is $250.
- The maximum online bet is $1,000.
- Online casino gaming is not legal in MT.
- You must be in MT to utilize Sports Bet Montana. The app or website uses your location to ensure that you can place a bet.
- Daily Fantasy Sports are legal through the Montana State Lottery. However, outside providers like DraftKings and FanDuel are prohibited.
Legal Online Sportsbooks
There is only one sportsbook that’s legal in Montana. When sports betting was legalized, the bill gave the Montana State Lottery sole possession over sports betting in the state. The online sportsbook that’s offered in the state is called Sports Bet Montana.
Sports Bet Montana is operated by Intralot. It’s not the best app, but for people in the state, they still have a legal betting option. The majority of the country cannot say that they have online sports betting. However, Sports Bet Montana is not as reputable as the national powers like DraftKings or FanDuel.
If Montana bettors want to bet online legally, they have no choice but to use Sports Bet Montana. The app is easy to navigate, and it will not take long to learn how to lock in a bet. It has a lot of betting markets in the United States and globally.
The app and kiosks are very accessible. There is a betting option for every person in the state. When you take a deep dive into sports betting, you will realize why this app has garnered many complaints.
Since Montana has a monopoly over sports betting, they can offer any odds and lines that they wish. They have no fear of competition in the state. A state with many betting options gives people choices. They can shop for the best lines and wager accordingly.
When Sports Bet Montana’s odds are compared to other books, they always give the bettor a smaller payout or a worse chance to win. This same format has been adopted by other states where the lottery provides the only legal sports betting option. It’s positive that MT offers sports betting, but this does not take away from the lottery's unfair play.
Sports Betting in Montana
Sports Bet Montana offers a wide variety of betting markets and wager types which is nice because it’s the only gambling option in the state. When you are looking to play on Sports Bet Montana, a button will show you the most popular markets on the book. This is an excellent way for new bettors to become acclimated to the site.
The most popular sport to bet in the state is football. Montana does not have any professional sports teams, but they have many quality FCS football squads. Football is ingrained in this state's nature, so you will find a lot of markets for the NFL and NCAA.
Sports Bet Montana also offers large markets for the NBA, NHL, and MLB. This is common throughout all sportsbooks. Sports Bet Montana also gives bettors the ability to wager other competitions that are slightly less mainstream.
The rest of the sports that can be bet on the site are soccer, tennis, MMA, golf, NASCAR, boxing, rugby, cricket, Aussie rules football, darts, cycling, and Formula 1 racing. Every person will be able to find a sport that suits their betting desires. The odds may not be great, but if you look hard enough, you should see a winnable market that gives you a nice payout.
You will have access to a variety of betting types on the Sports Bet Montana app. These are standard, but the wager types on Sports Bet Montana give you a lot of autonomy.
Moneyline
The moneyline is the simplest in the Sports Bet MT market. The moneyline is choosing one team to win over another. There are no other outcomes necessary for this bet to hit besides the winner. You can pick a moneyline winner for the end of the game. Although, Sports Bet Montana lets you pick quarter and half winners on the moneyline as well.
Point Spread
The point spread is a great bet that evens the playing field in sports. The point spread is the number that a team is favored to win a game by in all sports. If you like an underdog, you can bet them on the point spread. For you to win, they just have to cover.
Here is an example of a point spread bet. Team A is a three-point favorite over Team B. This means that they will be -3 in the Sports Bet Montana app. If you take Team A at -3, they must win by four points for you to receive your payout. Should they win by three, it’s a push, and you will receive your risk amount back.
If you like the underdog, you can bet Team B at +3. They must win or be within two points for you to claim your payout. If they lose by three, it’s a push, and you will receive your wager back.
Totals (Over/Under)
The total allows you to root for both teams. The typical total bet is when you choose if the cumulative points will be over or under a certain amount. These bets can be tough to win because you need to focus on both team’s offensive and defensive numbers to make an informative decision.
Prop Bets
Prop bets are the most fun wagers on a sportsbook. These focus on a small part of the game, like a player, statistic, or a specific time period. Prop bets are fun to wager, but they can be tough to win because they emphasize a small portion of a contest.
Future Bets
Future bets are when you wager an event taking place in the coming months or year. A common future bet is wagering some team to win a future championship before the season starts. You can also make future bets for players.
Parlay Bets
Parlay bets are when you group wagers from different games together. This raises the odds because it becomes tougher to win. However, if you win a parlay bet, you will receive an increased payout.
Legal Online Casinos in Montana
There are no legal online casinos in Montana. There are not many states that offer legal online casinos. It’s significantly less than the states in America that offer sports betting. There is a chance that legal online casinos come to MT in the future because of the state lottery’s monopoly on sports betting.
The Montana State Lottery will not have to compete with any online casinos. If Montana legalized online casinos, they would probably be more popular than sports betting. Not every bettor likes sports, but casino games are the roots of gambling in the United States.
Additionally, the Montana State Lottery could put online casino tablets in the locations where there are kiosks. Online casinos would be a massive hit in Montana, but there is still no talk in the legislature to legalize online casinos.
If Montana residents want to play casino games, they must do so at the state’s landlocked casinos. There are seven-federally recognized tribes that own ten full casinos in Montana. There are over 100 state-licensed electronic gaming casinos as well.
Legal Online Poker in Montana
Online poker is not legal in Montana. It’s a possibility in the future because of the state lottery’s monopoly over online gaming. If online poker were legalized, it would most likely correspond with online casino gaming.
In landlocked locations, poker is very popular. Montana offers legal poker in state-regulated card rooms. These card rooms are separate from the tribal casinos in the state. Montana offers different card rooms and gambling parlors where players can test their luck on table games.
The tribal compact does not give tribes the power to offer table games in any of their casinos. Poker is prevalent in MT, which could deter the state from providing it in an online format. It will be legalized at some point, but I do not expect MT to be in the first legalization tier.
How to Set Up a Montana Online Gambling Account
If you are new to sports betting, Montana is a great location to start betting when it comes to signing up for an online gambling account. There is only one online sports betting option in the state, making the sign-up process simple.
The Sign-Up Process
To bet in Montana, you can sign up for a sports betting account online at the Sports Bet Montana website. On the Sports Bet Montana, go to the register button on the website. You can also proceed to the app store or the Google Play store and download the mobile app.
The sign-up process is the same from the online website and the sports betting app. When you begin the registration process, you will have to enter some personal information. Do not let this alarm you because it’s meant to keep you safe.
Sports Bet Montana is very safe because it’s run solely by the state lottery. The Montana State Lottery will ask you for your name, address, date of birth, and social security number. Many new bettors are hesitant about inputting their social security numbers because of the fear of having their identity stolen.
If this thought is running through your head, do not fret because the social security number is necessary to keep you safe. The social security number is a way for the sportsbook to assure that you are legally allowed to bet in the state.
Sports Bet Montana makes you undergo a few security measures to guarantee that you are yourself. This would not be accomplished without your social security number. Sports Bet Montana keeps your information safe, but to assure that nobody hacks your account, it’s beneficial to choose a great password.
A strong password utilizes letters, numbers, and symbols. These passwords are the toughest to crack, and they will give you a sense of security when playing on Sports Bet Montana.
Montana Online Gambling: Banking Methods
In many sportsbooks throughout the United States, there are many payment methods that bettors can utilize. These methods include but are not limited to PayPal, Neteller, and PayNearMe.
Sports Bet Montana’s banking methods are straightforward. When you sign-up for sports betting account in MT, you will be asked to set up an e-wallet and link it to your page. The e-wallet will serve as your only banking method in the app.
In your e-wallet, you will have to link a bank account or debit card to transfer funds. You cannot utilize a credit card for your Sports Bet Montana account. This is the same rule for people looking to play the Montana State Lottery.
The two banking methods to fill your e-wallet are through a bank account or a debit card. This is not a significant setback for most bettors because these are the most common payment forms for sportsbooks that offer multiple banking options.
The Future of Online Gambling in Montana
The future of online gambling is promising, but the state lottery will always hold onto sports betting. Montana is making money with this strategy, and it does not appear that they will be changing anytime soon.
It’s excellent that MT offers online sports betting. However, it’s disappointing that this makeup does not give people in the state multiple legal betting options. There is a chance that the sportsbook odds improve, but the monopoly will stay in place.
People in MT should be looking forward to the establishment of online poker and online casino gaming. This legalization is a long way away, but the entire legal gambling market is starting to trend in this direction. Legal sports betting is now mainstream. This means that this feeling will eventually shift to online poker and casino gaming.
